Franciscan Sisters

ARTICLES ABOUT FRANCISCAN SISTERS BY DATE - PAGE 2

Sr. Carol Marie Schommer, O.S.F., 62, member of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago for 44 years. General Councilor and General Treasurer of the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago. Former Principal of Madonna High School, Chicago. Devoted daughter of the late Marion and the late Marie, nee Cross, Schommer; beloved sister of Gail (Robert) Hethcoat and Beverly (Thomas) Gahan; loving aunt to numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and great-great nephews. Visitation General Motherhouse, 11400 Theresa Dr., (Main St. & Walker Rd.)

Long before Baby Boomers drew the nation's attention to the quandaries of retirement, Sister Duchesne Herold recognized the issues in her religious order, writing a book to help those in religious life embrace after-work years. "She was very instrumental in the 1970s of having the religious think about retirement and what they should do with themselves," said Sister Sherri Coleman, a councilor of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary in charge of public relations and development. "Sisters were living longer, and so in order to enjoy life and get the most out of it when they were no longer working full time, she believed they needed to continue to develop as a person and as a religious."

Sister M. Martin Flynn, O.S.F., 84, of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, died on Monday, March 25, 2002, at 12 noon at St. Francis Convent, Springfield, IL. Sister M. Martin, the former Mary Ellen Flynn, was born in Chicago, IL on January 26, 1918, the daughter of Martin and Sarah Goffney Flynn. She entered the Congregation on February 2, 1942 and professed her religious vows on October 4, 1944. Sister was a 1948 graduate of St. John's Hospital School of Nursing.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a Frankfort-based order of nuns, are accustomed to lending a helping hand. In 1882, the sisters used a $600 donation from Joliet residents for a hospital for the city. They opened the hospital, now called Provena St. Joseph Medical Center, and moved their mother house from northern Indiana to Joliet a year later. The order, founded in Germany in 1866, accepted donations over the years to support its work, which included opening a nursing home in Avilla, Ind., an orphanage in Freeport, Ill., and a home for pregnant teens in California.